Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce The Big Apple, a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.

“Capital punishment means them without the capital get the punishment”

One popular argument against the death penalty (capital punishment) is that it executes the poor—rich people can afford expensive legal representation to avoid the penalty. “Capital punishment means them/those without the capital get(s) the punishment” is a saying that has appeared on signs since at least 1977. It’s not known who first originated the saying.

14 May 1977, Mobile (AL) Register, Weekend, pg. 4, col. 1 photo caption:
Their stories will be told in “Murder One,” Saturday at 10 p.m. on Channel 42, reinforcing the growing suspicion that those without the capital get the punishment.

28 June 1977, Beckley (WV) Post-Herald, “Breakfast Table Talk” by the staff, pg. 9, col. 4:
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT, according to a small sign at the Raleigh Community Action Association offices.at Gray Flats, means “them without the capital get the punishment.”—YB

25 November 1977, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA), “Death Penalty March in Deserted Plaza,” sec. 1, pg. 15, col. 1:
The marchers carried signs reading “Give Thanks for Life...Stop the Death Penalty,” “Capital Punishment Means Them Without the Capital Gets the Punishment,” “Forgiveness Not Vengeance,” and ‘We Kill People to Show That Killing is Wrong?”

Murderpedia
John Arthur SPENKELINK
(...)
Last Words:
“Capital punishment—Them without the capital get the punishment.”
(Quote attributed to John Spenkelink before his execution in Florida on May 25, 1979).

Google BooksDeath is Different:
Studies in the Morality, Law, and Politics of Capital Punishment
By Hugo Adam Bedau
Boston, MA: Northeastern University Press
1987
Pg. 43:
All the sociological evidence points to the conclusion that the death penalty is the poor man’s justice; hence the epigram “Those without the capital get the punishment.”

Google BooksCrumbling Wall:
Why Prisons Fail
By Ruth Morris
London: Mosaic
1989
Pg. 107:
“Capital Punishment means them without the capital gets the punishment.” This witty button might be funny if if weren’t for the fact that polls show that 68% of Canadians favour a return to hanging, ...

Google News Archive
17 September 1990, Pittsburgh (PA) Post-Gazette, “Wife seeks inmate’s freedom” by Lynda Guydon Taylor, pg. 4, col. 6:
He pointed out a sign on the podium in front that read: “Capital punishment means those without the capital get the punishment.”

Death Penalty Information CenterJustice on the Cheap: The Philadelphia Story
by Michael Kroll former Executive Director, Death Penalty Information Center May 1992
INTRODUCTION
“Them without the capital get the punishment” is a well-worn phrase among those who have studied the unequal application of the death penalty in America. Poor people facing society’s ultimate penalty must rely on public funds to ensure they are competently represented, as the Constitution guarantees. Yet, in more and more jurisdictions, public services of all kinds are being slashed for lack of adequate funding. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is one such jurisdiction--a dramatic and graphic example of a nationwide problem.

Google BooksCompromised:
Clinton, Bush and the CIA
By Terry Reed
New York, NY: S.P.I. Books
1994
Pg. 418:
He had learned a lot about her, he felt, just by reading a framed inscription hanging on the wall above her desk that read: “Capital punishment means them without the capital gets the punishment.”

Google BooksThe Gospel with extra salt:
Friends of Tony Campolo celebrate his passions for ministry
By Anthony Campolo and Joseph B Modica
Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press
2000
Pg. 103:
It is frequently said that in the United States “capital punishment means them without the capital gets the punishment.”

Google BooksA Life for a Life:
The American Debate Over the Death Penalty
By Michael Dow Burkhead
Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co.
2009
Pg. 58:
“Capital punishment means them without the capital gets the punishment.” —Anonymous

MoveOn.orgJeremy Irons: ‘Those Without The Capital Get The Punishment’
By Angie Aker. Thursday, September 22 2011
These facts will open your eyes if they haven’t been already. Watch: ...